Samsung Blu-ray Players Add Netflix / Pandora Support

Samsung Transforms Access to Home Entertainment with Blu-ray Upgrades and New Online Content Partners

Samsung Electronics America, a market leader and award-winning innovator in consumer electronics, proudly announces the availability of Netflix and Pandora services for its Blu-ray players. Greatly enhancing the functionality of its cutting-edge BD-P2500 and BD-P2550 devices, users can now instantly access a wealth of compelling online entertainment. Going well beyond simply spinning ordinary Blu-ray discs, these Samsung Blu-ray players can instantly stream movies and television episodes from Netflix and music powered by Pandora, all from the comfort of the living room.

Consumers can upload the value-added services at no additional cost to the players via a feature upgrade. Starting today, current Samsung Blu-ray device owners will be able to instantly watch from a growing library of more than 12,000 movies and television episodes from Netflix (BD-P2500/BD-P2550) and music from Pandora (BD-P2550). The upgrade is available at www.samsung.com/bluraysupport.

“In its new form, Samsung Blu-ray players become the ultimate content delivery box, combining on-demand access to movies and music as well as jaw-dropping Full HD viewing,” said Reid Sullivan, Vice President of Marketing, Audio/Video & Imaging at Samsung Electronics America. “Samsung presents a new value proposition for Blu-ray players by positioning it as a portal to a wide world of engaging digital content, be it Blu-ray discs, Pandora’s online music library or movies from Netflix.”

The addition of content from Netflix and Pandora underscores Samsung’s strong commitment to meeting consumers’ rapidly-evolving desire for multimedia enjoyment at home. Since releasing the first stand-alone Blu-ray player in 2006, Samsung has a proven track record of continuously improving features for its product owners. With this update, the most potent yet, consumers can instantly enjoy a vast library of digital music, movies and television shows along with the crystal clear high-definition experience of Blu-ray using one device.

In addition to the content services, Samsung will provide a BD-Live update for the company’s BD-P2550. To heighten audio format options, a DTS-HD High Resolution firmware upgrade will also be available for both the BD-P2500 and BD-P2550 on October 30, giving consumers both superior sound plus incredibly sharp high-definition picture quality. Making the upgrade process a breeze is Samsung’s Auto Firmware Update feature. When connected to a home network, the player will now prompt users of new firmware as soon as it becomes available.

NetflixAccess to Netflix on both the BD-P2500 and BD-P2550 offers consumers an extensive supply of video content to watch instantly. From the players’ welcome screen, Netflix members click on the Netflix icon to reach their instant Queue (the list of movies they have selected on the PC want to watch instantly.) After choosing the title they want to watch, they simply push play and the movie starts in as little as 30 seconds. Netflix members also can use the BD-P2500 and BD-P2550 to watch any one of the 100,000 titles Netflix has on DVDs as well as the more than 800 titles Netflix has on Blu-ray disc.

“Samsung has been at the forefront of innovation in consumer electronics and has established a market leadership position in Blu-ray and digital television,” said Netflix Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Reed Hastings. “We’re excited about the upgraded Blu-ray disc players. Moreover, we look forward to working with Samsung in the years to come to deliver a variety of outstanding products on which consumers can watch movies delivered over the Internet from Netflix.”

PandoraThe BD-P2550 can now stream music though the popular Pandora music service. As a result, Samsung Blu-ray consumers have a fresh way to discover new music and stay up-to-date with their favorite artists.

“Internet radio is rapidly spreading beyond the desktop computer to every room of the house” said Tim Westergren, Pandora’s founder. “We’re honored and excited that Samsung selected Pandora’s personalized radio as the radio of choice for their Blu-Ray player customers.”

BD-P2500/BD-P2550The BD-P2500 and BD-P2550 make up Samsung’s 2008 step-up Blu-ray player line. They offer breakthrough enhancements, such as Hollywood Quality Video (HQV) processing and 7.1-channel analog audio outputs creating a powerful HD audio-visual experience. The upgrade schedule by unit is as follows: